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我利我利亡者 (がりがりもうじゃ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
greedy person ; money-grubber
A derogatory term for someone obsessed with personal gain, often money. The word is a play on がりがり (sound of scratching or scraping) and 亡者 (deceased person, or someone dead to the world), implying a person who is spiritually dead from greed. It is not common in modern everyday speech but may appear in literature or emphatic criticism.
あの 社しゃ 長ちょう は がりがり 亡もう 者じゃ だ と 陰かげ で 言い わ れ て いる 。
That company president is talked about behind his back as a money-grubber.
Written forms 我が 利り 我が 利り 亡もう 者じゃ
Ateji compound; the kanji are used phonetically and for their meaning. This spelling is rare and mainly found in older or literary contexts.
がりがり 亡もう 者じゃ
Mixed kana-kanji spelling that is more readable than the full ateji form.
ガリガリ 亡もう 者じゃ
Katakana-kanji variant sometimes seen in informal writing.
Kanji 利 profit, advantage, benefit 亡 deceased, the late, dying Similar words 守しゅ 銭せん 奴ど 守銭奴 is a more common and direct term for a miser or money-grubber, while 我利我利亡者 is a rarer, more colorful ateji expression with a stronger nuance of spiritual emptiness.
がめつい がめつい is an adjective meaning 'greedy' or 'pushy' in a general sense, often used in Kansai dialect. 我利我利亡者 is a noun specifically labeling a person.
Etymology Ateji compound from 我利 (gari, phonetic for 'scratching' and also suggesting self-interest via 我) + 亡者 (mōja, 'dead person' or 'ghost'), implying someone who is dead to the world because of greed. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a coined term playing on sound and meaning.
